Bernard Matthews, turkey tycoon, dies on Thanksgiving, aged 80

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Bernard Matthews ... "put turkey on the plate of everyday working families"

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He passed away at his home in Norfolk

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Mr Matthews after he received his CBE insignia in 1992David Giles/PA

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He formed the company in 1950 after hatching a dozen eggs in a second-hand incubator

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Bernard Matthews retired as chairman of his company only in January on his 80th birthday

Steve Bird

Last updated at 9:46PM, November 26 2010

Bernard Matthews, the farming tycoon who boasted that his turkeys were
“bootiful, really bootiful”, has died at the age of 80. Tributes were paid
yesterday to the multimillionaire businessman who brought cheap turkey meat
in many different guises to the masses.

Mr Matthews died on Thursday, which coincidentally was Thanksgiving Day in the
United States, when families traditionally eat turkey.

The cause of death has not been revealed but it is understood that he had
suffered from Alzheimer’s disease in recent years and his health had been
deteriorating. In a statement on his company’s website, Noel Bartram, the
chief executive